Friday, July 17, 2009

Taraneh: Iranian 'Rape Victim' Reported Dead

The story of 'Taraneh' first emerged on a couple of farsi blogs.

Then it was picked up by the Huffington Post, which admitted that the story lacked verification.

According to the Post's account, Taraheh M. (Mousavi) , a 28-year-old Iranian woman was detained on Friday June 19 (incorrect -it was June 28) at the Ghoba mosque in Tehran. Taraneh, whose first name is Persian for "song," was reportedly moved around Iran's detention system and her family could not locate her.

Fast-forward to recent days, when her family reportedly got an anonymous phone call tipping them off that Taraneh had been admitted to hospital. The caller gave details of injuries to Taraneh consistent with rape. When the family went to the hospital they found that Taraneh was only briefly there, unconscious all the while.

Yesterday, the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran called for her release. Today one of the blogs originally covering the story reported that the family were informed yesterday that a burned corpse matching Taraneh’s description had been found in the desert between Karaj and Qazvin. They were threatened to keep quiet about the affair.

According to the blog report, the family went to Ghazvin and recovered her body, but are close-mouthed about funeral arrangements.

Taraneh has already been celebrated online as a victim of brutal gang rape by sub-human Basiji security forces. However, that outrage is based solely on some Twittered blog reports. No professional journalist has reported on this from immediate sources. Even the claim of rape comes only via an alleged anonymous call.

1 comment:

Unfortunately people never want to believe a rape occurred or speak about it and this becomes part of the problem. When there is a rape the whole world, men and women, must stand up, scream out, and demand justice. Rape is not the shame of the woman, whose spirit leaves her body during that time and rests with God. To respond as though a rape is a shame on her or her family is pure ignorance! She has done nothing wrong, nothing shameful. It is the absolute and complete shame of the man who is possessed by the darkest evil, who has allowed such pure evil into his body, soul and mind. Even most animals do not do such things. There is nothing more evil in this world than rape. A man who rapes has become Satan himself... It is the shame of the parents who raised the man who would do such a thing. It is the indelible scarlet shame of any regime that fosters such behavior. It is the shame of anyone who sweeps the knowledge and truth of such an occurrence under the rug as though it is not the most horrific outrage on the face of this earth. It is the shame of any society who believes the shame of such an occurrence lies with the woman or the family of the woman who has been raped. It is the shame of any family member that would cast away a child who has suffered through a rape. No, it is not the shame of the woman! God holds the woman in his the greatest light and love.